I've been seeing in the GARM lately a lot of talk about negative views towards Yao and many of this talk is saying that racism is why there are so many negative views about Yao. Personally I don't understand why negative views about Yao persist when he is obviously doing so well and won't rule out racism but I find a lot of the rhetoric very troubling. In defending Yao it seems like stereotypes regarding African-Americans are being dragged out which I find very troubling. Further the quick resort to claiming racism clouds much of the discussion and analysis behind what valid basketball criticisms there are against Yao. Finally throwing around racism just hardens positions. People who feel that Yao still isn't that good aren't likely to change their mind if people defending Yao call them racist and at the same time they are willing to throw the counter argument that defenders of Yao are racist too for using stereotypes to charge racism in the first place. I'm posting this here in the D & D to focus on the racism angle of this debate versus the on court assessment.
I suspect, at times, it is racism, but some folks just cannot get over the fact they were wrong about somebody. There needs to be the "sometimes" option in the poll. There will probably be people on this board, over the next few years, criticizing Reggie Bush, Mario Williams and Vince Young, regardless of how well they are doing, simply to protect their original stand on which player they wanted the Texans to draft.
is charlie rosen racially criticizing mcgrady too when he calls him overrated? the people claiming racism are waaaay too oversensitive. people can have stupid negative opinions that aren't racist.
I don't think it's racially motivated as much as much as it's jealousy, because almost everybody predicted Yao to be a failure.
It depends on which goofball on the boob tube is criticizing him. I'll go out on a limb and say that Kenny Smith is racist. Barkley is not. Rosen probably is not, more stubborn as per bobrek's post.
For some its racism, for some its because the Rox sucked when he passed the magic mark into a legit allstar/superstar.
Of course it is......race is clearly a factor, but people admitting it is a factor is a whole nuther matter. DD
The whole league is racist, to a point. Every tall white guy that is good coming out of college is dubbed the next Larry Bird. Young white players are hardly every compared to their black contemporaries. Every black player that gets into trouble with the law is a "thug". Of course, it all starts at the top with David Stern trying to turn the players into the white, corporate fan base that buys all those luxury suites.
How much of that is deserved? Most of the Larry Bird comparisons aren't deserved, but some, such as Adam Morrison, play more similarly to Larry Bird than they do any other star. Rarely do many white players (especially good ones) play much like their black contemporaries. The comparison mentioned when Chris Paul came into the league was Steve Nash. Being white didn't stop Jason Williams from being called a thug. I'm not saying that race doesn't play a part, but your examples aren't that great.
I'm not going to vote because you left off the word "most". Some of it definitely is, but not most of it.
I am never interested in assuming others' motives of anything, because that would be only my opinion, and it can't be verified. Nobody knows others' motives for sure, and sometimes one wouldn't admit the impact of own subconciseness. So, there is no point to argue about the motive itself, but rather the action and results caused by the action. As long as they are not criticizing or even attacking Yao with racial slurs such as "Chinaman", you can't say those criticism or attacks are racist, although they were mean, unreasonable, or ridiculous. Deep inside, everyone has some bias towards certain ethnical groups, has said something close to racial offensive in private. So, technically, most people are somewhat racist, although even just in minor degree. Therefore, there is really no point in second-guessing others' motives, and fighting something nobody would openly admit. I think the debate should still be based on facts and logic, in the game itself. As for those empty TV talks about how "34/17" isn't dominant, isn't making teammates better etc. I don't care, it's just some poor effort to save face. In my opinion, only people lacking of confidence are afraid to admit own mistakes. If comments were not directly racially related or offensive, there is no ground for us to claim it's based on racism. Quite frankly, I don't care whatever motivation might be behind some really stupid talks.
So, how DID Larry Bird play? Like a white guy? Here are some nbadraft comparisons from the 2006 draft... http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/andreabargnani.html Andrea Bargnani: NBA comparison - Dirk Nowitski http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/adammorrison.html Adam Morrison: NBA comparison - Larry Bird http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/j.j.redick.html JJ Redick: NBA comparison - Drazen Petrovic http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/oleksiypecherov.html Oleksiye Pecherov: NBA comparison - Kevin Willis http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/jordanfarmar.html Jordan Farmar: NBA comparison - Luke Ridnour http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/joelfreeland.html Joel Freeland: NBA comparison - Keon Clark http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/stevenovak.html Steve Novak: NBA comparison - Matt Bullard http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/pauldavis.html Paul Davis: NBA comparison - Chris Mihm http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/jamesaugustine.html James Augustine: NBA comparison - Andrew DeClerq http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/damirmarkota.html Damir Markota: NBA comparison - Robert Horry That's three out of ten white players taken in the 2006 draft with comparisons to black players. I know it's just one draft preview site, but I think that NBA players are broken down into "white" players and "black" players, and there is a stereotype that exists within the two groups. Maybe "racist" is too strong a term, but it does have a segregatory feel to it. I guess it's just human nature to compare a white guy to another white guy, and vice versa.
"Racially motivated" is a very loaded term. Critics of Yao are very aware of his race. He would be less prominent if he were not chinese. So I think it's pretty clear the fact that he's chinese puts more focus on him (both good and bad -- with related backlash to the good, and to the bad) than if he were not chinese. And I think that trying to find rational for the rhetoric in the GARM could be a very dangerous thing for your mental health. Even more so than if you were to take this forum seriously, or were to follow dating advise from the Hangout.
Good question. In Yao's case, it is clear Shaq's comment has racism tone in the beginning. Remember a couple of years, a white golf player mentioned chicken food for Tiger Woods, the white player had to apologize. Shaq certainly got away with it. Barkeley is down on Yao all the time, he might have a big mouth but why he had to say 26-10 is not dominant. I want to say it again, #1 pick does not mean hype and huge expectation. Andrew Bogut was #1, Barganini was #1, Kenyon Martin was #1, Kandiman was #1, Kwame Brown was #1. If anyone of them get 20-10, you think Barkeley would belittle any brother's 20-10? Barkeley might say he still has to go deep in the playoff which is fair. Both Shaq and Barkeley are HOFs and leaders of the athletes who play basketball. They are the voices and faces of the black players. If your leaders showed biased tendency, there is something wrong.
I would suggest that they are culturally motivated instead of racially motivated. If Yao would get a couple of tatoos, flex his muscles at the crowd, call the refs motherf***ers, and get a few technicals I genuinely believe that some of those people wouldn't be as critical of him.
I understand what you are saying, and it looks bad when you look at it overall. But when you get down to individual comparisons, they often make sense. Who do you compare Bargnani to except Dirk? The Steve Novak/Matt Bullard comparison makes perfect sense. Jordan Farmar (who apparently is half-black) is an unspectacular but reliable PG, Luke Ridnour is an unspectacular but reliable PG. On the other hand, the same site compares Marco Belinelli to Ray Allen, Josh McRoberts to Chris Webber, Tiago Splitter to PJ Brown, and Tyler Hansbrough to Udonis Haslem.
I would be very interested in seeing the voting results if you create a second vote at the same page for Shaq's comment: “Tell Yao Ming, ‘Ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-so" and ask if it is racially motivated. By the way, I do not think Kenny Smith is a racist, but he has a soft spine and is dominated and influenced by Barkeley's personality on TNT.
